Collins
by lizziets98
Summary: A 16 year old girl from the capital and her 11 year old sister finf they have more in common with a certain Tribute in this years Games. It has hummor, intensity and even romance. All rights go to Susanne Collins


Excitement. That is, undoubtedly, the most prevalent emotion running through the crisp, warm, breezy, early summer air. So many preparations so little time. I absolutely love to see all of the twenty-four Tributes looking splendid in the costumes that represent the flavor of each of their districts that have been designed by their fabulous prep teams. They so rarely have a reason to look nice or dress up at all in the Districts, so it feels as if we are doing them a service. It feels so nice to make our world a more beautiful place. It is such great entertainment but I honestly don't have any idea what I would do if I was entered into the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games; or any of the ones before it. It is practically a death warrant signed, sealed, and delivered by mandate from the Capital.

Luckily, my sister and I will never have to worry about that. We are citizens of the Capital of Panem and can never be Reaped. I live in a two bedroom high rise with my absentee mother and father and my beautiful twelve year old sister named Airabella who we call Belle. It's a lot easier. She is, without a doubt, my favorite person in the world. No matter what she does, I will never ever stop loving her. We are all each other has because mom and dad are always at parties that we aren't invited to. So usually the responsibility of taking care of sweet Belle falls on me. I can't imagine my life without those thick, curly, long, soft, perfect brunette locks that she gets from my mother. Or those wide, determined, honest eyes that sparkle and shine like the finest diamonds in the world and are just as clear. They are a brightly dazzling almost translucent blue that you can easily get absorbed in.

Tonight will be the Reaping which is required viewing for all of Panem so mom and dad will probably be watching it at a friends' house at one of the Reaping Parties which have never been uncommon in the Capital. The Reaping will determine who will be entered into the Arena. The Tributes from districts 1, 2 and 4 are always heavy favorites. Technically, they aren't supposed to train before they come here to the Training Center in the Capital but they always do which is why they have won almost every year since I can remember. They are sent to special training schools so that when the time comes they can volunteer and "bring pride to their District."

The District 1 boy and girl both look good, which is to be expected. The boy from 2, Cato, is very handsome. His District partner, Clove, is also very pretty and she has a quiet fierceness about her that shows that she will not be easily over looked. Cato is about six feet tall and has short, closely cropped sandy blonde hair. His eyes are like two pieces of blue green ice that fit perfectly with his cold, emotionless face. He looks neither worried nor scared or even anxious. He stands there in front of his District and waits for the Reaping to be over. His partner has short dark brown hair and nearly black eyes that glitter with anticipation. I have never seen a Tribute look almost excited to be entered into the Games, but she does. Those eyes seem cold and calculating as if they are already envisioning countless ways to entertainingly kill her adversaries; maybe even the boy she standing less than a yard away from and has probably grown up with. They seem to be almost on the verge of insanity.

The Tributes from 3 and 4 also look like they will last for some time. After that I begin to notice a very steady decline. The next district that interests me is 11. The male Tribute is a massive dark skinned dangerous looking 18 year old named Thresh. He has short cropped hair, strong arms and legs and piercing hard set almost black eyes. The girl is a weak- looking very small 12 year old named Rue who is not unlike Belle, except for the fact that she is, like her District partner, dark skinned. She had wavy brown hair that stops at her shoulders and kind, innocent light brown eyes. It is always sad to see a 12 year old get Reaped especially when no one volunteers which is, unfortunately, almost always.

Next up is District 12. They are the last District to be Reaped because there the last District as well as the poorest. They also have the worst Victor record in the entire country. The girl is a petite, weak, and fragile looking twelve year old with blonde hair named Primrose Everdeen who is very similar to my own sweet Belle.

Only this time a mad girl screams "PRIM! PRIM! I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" and when she is asked her name I notice she has the same last name as Primrose. Her name is Katniss Everdeen and they are sisters. The boy is Peeta Mellark. He has short, wavy blonde hair and sweet, scared bright blue eyes. No one steps up to volunteer for this boy but he appears to be well fed and around 16 years old; same as the girl. The two sisters are very similar to Belle and myself in both age and dominer. All of a sudden I feel a horrible sense of familiarity with these two girls. It is almost like looking in a mirror but somehow more surreal. Now I am rooting for the girl, Katniss Everdeen, to win this bloody fight to the death that will be broadcast live on national television.

I feel an uncomfortable tightness in my chest as the deluge of salty, bitter tears ensues upon my perfectly made and freckled face.

"Collins, what's wrong?" my sister nervously asks as she takes one of my now shaking hands in one of her steady ones.

They feel comforting and gentle against my now cold and clammy flesh.

"Nothing." I tell her. "I just can't stop seeing us in those two girls from District 12. All I can think about is how sad it would be if we were in that situation. I don't think I could take it. I love you so much"

She gives me a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. She says in a soothing voice, "I would be sad too; I would be sad because you were sad. I don't know what I would do either. I love you too. I love you more than anything."

As Peeta and Katniss are escorted onto the train by Effie Trinket, I can tell that the boy has had a tearful good-bye unlike Katniss.

"Cooooolllllliiiinnnssssss! !" my mother sing-songed to my sister and I an hour later.

We walked over to the coffee table as we had done so many times before in years past to continue with our family tradition of collectively deciding on whom to place bets. "I want the girl from 12." I say

"Really?" my mother asked as if she couldn't come up with a viable reason if her life depended upon it. "My thought was the boy from 2. He was very handsome and looked incredibly strong." She added. "The girl from 12 volunteered for her twelve year old sister." I retorted.

"It reminds me of Belle and I; of our relationship." I finished.

"Alright, alright I see your point" my dad interjected. "We can bet on both of them."

"I am more than in full support of that idea, Anderson sweetheart!" my mother agreed

"Well, we do this as a family. Are we all decided and squared away and content with this years' first bet?"

I gave my blessing. "Great! I will send it in tomorrow morning on my way to the office" he said.

"I'm going to bed now, so good night. Have a good day at the bank tomorrow, dad." I said as I bid them au due until the next morning.

I pretended to be asleep but I heard Belle slip in to bed with me a half hour later. She curled up in a tight ball next to me and I put my arms around her and told her goodnight. This is how we sleep every night. It used to be two beds but ever sense Belle started having the nightmares, she sleeps with me. The first time, she snuck into our parents' room and that arrangement only lasted a week, until my parents bought us a bigger bed.

"Why don't you sleep with Collins?" my mom asked.

"I would but the bed is too small for both of us to fit. I tried once and Collins kicked me in her sleep. She gave me a bruise." A red eyed Aierabella had said in a quivering breath. We had finally gotten her calmed down at two in the morning.

My dad picked her up and put her in his lap. He smoothed her hair back out of her sweaty face and kissed her forehead. "We'll get you and Collins a bigger bed tomorrow. How does that sound? You can come and help us pick it out, you and Collins both. Would you like that?"

Her face lit up like he told her that Winter Holiday had come early this year and she could pick out her own presents. "Can I pick out the blanket and sheets, too?" She questioned sniffling and wiping the last of the tears out of her eyes.

He gave her one of his smiles that only she could get out of him. "Of course, Princess!"

"What about the paint?" She questioned

"Why not?" He said as he tickled her. By the end of that day, our room was the dream of every fairytale princess. The room and bedding were both a blinding pink. The sheets were a shiny baby pink satin and the walls were a shade darker and still too bright for my liking but they seemed to make Aierabella happy so I tolerated them.

The next morning I discuss the previous nights' wagers with my best friends the first being a very attractive boy named Taylor. He has brown hair that he has cut into side swept bangs that he periodically flips out of his face, exposing his flawless skin and bright predominantly brown hazel eyes. But nothing like that is going on between us. I mean, he could have any girl in the world if he wanted her. I don't think he's been single since we turned thirteen three years ago.

My other best friend is named Audrey. She is also gorgeous and lots of boys have spent many sleepless nights thinking about her but she isn't looking for a boyfriend right now, even worse. Aud is a beautiful slender girl with a thick sheet of sleek, perfectly straight auburn hair that stops where the base of her neck and her collar bone meet. It goes perfectly with her pale skin and emerald green eyes.

I find that they have both placed wagers on Thresh and Cato. They think it was absurd that I put any money on the girl from District 12. They thought it was laughable the way she was screaming on live television. The Tributes from District 12 don't usually even make it to the top eight. When I tell them that there is a familiarity between the sisters and Belle and me, they understand. That is one thing for which I can always count on them. They may not get it initially, but once I explain it, they quickly apologize and tell me that they see my point and agree with me and then proceed to beat themselves up for not thinking of it themselves.

"The girl from District 1, Glimmer, should have an interesting costume tonight. That's always been my favorite part!" Aud says.

"Mine is the interviews," Taylor joins in.

"Oh, yes! The interviews are always fun! Caesar is great with the Tributes. He's very witty" I agree.

I can't help but wonder what Katniss' costume will be tonight. She comes from the coal district so it's usually something out dated and tacky that has to do with coal miners. I have a feeling that she won't have many sponsors which is sad because she is so courageous. But that is how things work. The more attractive you are the sponsors you accrue, and sponsors can make or break you in this game. They can mean the difference between life and death. A well placed box of matches to a fire or even a small jug of water can be crucial to your victory. I hope this evening goes well for the Tributes of District 12 because the importance of tonight cannot possibly be overstated. I don't want to have to watch a Games knowing that a twelve year old girl just watched her sister die because Katniss volunteered to take her place and enter the arena for her. I can't even begin to fathom the loss and guilt that the little girl would feel.

When Belle and I sit down that night to watch the Opening Ceremonies, all looks normal and the Career Tributes from 1, 2 and 4 look wonderful in their exquisitely designed costumes but literally pale in comparison to Katniss and Peeta. The audience goes berserk when they come out holding hand and when she starts blowing kisses, they are beside themselves with sheer giddiness. It doesn't hurt that they are both on fire. This has never been done before and I suspect that people are lining up around corners to sponsor them. They are both as radiant as fire, which I guess is the point. They are so beautiful and mesmerizing that the camera crew gives them almost double the amount of screen time than any of the other 11 Districts but that only helps the potential sponsors look at them in their grandeur and see just how brightly they might shine in the arena here in just a few days. By the end of the night a new phrase is coined. Katniss, the Girl on Fire.

After that, my family and I have the most engaged conversation that we have had in a long time. In fact I don't think that we have ever had a conversation that lasted this long ever before. It wasn't about my schooling or my friends or even my life which thy have had almost no involvement in at all. Instead they tell me that they are in full support of my decision from last night especially now that they have seen her costume and her performance in the Open Ceremonies.

"Oh she was marvelous!" my mother trilled in her capital accent that is at the moment slightly thicker than usual. She has had a few too many drinks and is getting out a flute and still more champagne.

She gets out three glasses for all of us except for Belle. The one thing that my parents and I can agree on is that Belle is too young to drink. She will occasionally ask for a sip of wine but she has never had a whole glass herself. I don't really have much of a taste for the stuff but I drink on occasion. Never more than half a glass though. It doesn't take much to do me in and I need to be there for Belle because no one else is. I need to be alert enough to act if she needs anything because she knows that I know that our parents defiantly won't be. During the Games is when it's the worst. They stay out all night at friends' houses with a constant and steady supply of alcohol. "I think it's time for you to go to bed now, Marianna." My dad takes the words right out of my mouth.

Sometimes I forget just how much I actually do love my father. We are actually quite similar in both mind and body. We have the same straight sandy blonde hair and light green eyes. I am his spitting image except my hair is long and goes down to the top of my ribs and his is only down to his shoulders and is always slicked back with some type of gel. I usually just part mine to the side to frame my face as most of the girls in my school would at least tries to be involved with Ariebella and me but he ends up going with my mother to avoid arguments. I can't really blame him. He's only trying to make their marriage work for Airebella but I can't help myself sometimes. Especially when something happens to her at school and she tells me about it one walk home from classes and finishes by telling me that she can't wait to tell our parents. I can't help but hating both of them at times like that.

Later that night Belle and I sit down to watch the interviews and Glimmer looks beautiful in a sheer dress that fits to her body perfectly. Her make-up is perfectly done and I can tell that her mentor has instructed her to play sexy. It sounds unusual but it's a strategy that I have seen work when done the right way with the right Tribute.

Cato goes on about how strong he is and his training score of 8. He exudes an air of cockiness and arrogance but he's strong and looked great last night so even this help his case. Thresh doesn't say much but has an extremely intense look about him that speaks for itself and says that now that he is a contestant, he is playing to win and has the physical ability and presence of mind to do so.

Rue says that she is fast and a good climber and that if the others can't catch her, they can't kill her. She tells Caesar not to count her out of the Games in spite of her age. That she is, in fact a lot more capable than she looks.

Caesar assures her "Never in a million years."

I have to smile because if she looked slightly bird like in stature, her stylist played on by giver her costumes actual wings. She looks spectacular. And I hope that this will be enough to get her sponsors. This coupled with her score of 8, I think it will be. I vaguely wonder how she possibly could've gotten the same score as Cato and so many others but I will never know the exact answer because the activities from the private training session are of course kept private. I can only hope to get a glimpse of her talents in the arena. I may convince my parents to put some money on this little girl after tonight.

The moment that I have been waiting for all week has finally come. It is time for Katniss' interview. She comes out in a full length red gown. She has an intricate design in her shoulder. She looks absolutely spectacularly radiant. Her hair is in a cleverly done up-due that adds to her sense of power and regality. She will defiantly have the most sponsors of anyone in the Games. She says that the lamb stew with dried plumbs is the most impressive thing that the Capital has to offer.

"So, Katniss, tell us. Are the flames real?" Caesar inquires.

"Yes. They are! Would you like to see them?" she questions.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Caesar says nervously.

Katniss gives a small laugh and assures him that it is, indeed, quite safe. She spins and by the end of the first twirl she is engulfed in the flames that worked so well for her on the night of the Opening Ceremonies. She twirls and twirls until Caesar tells her to sit down before she falls.

"We can't have a Tribute with a broken ankle before the Games, now can we!" Caesar warns with a little chuckle. She giggles and wobbly, makes her way back to the chair.

"That was quite something!" Caesar complements.

"That reminds me! When you rolled out of the training center during the Opening ceremonies, my heart literally stopped! Did anyone else experience this?" his question is closely followed by cheers and hollers. "Tells us about your sister, did she come to say good bye to you?" There is an immediate change in her.

She goes rigid and her smile falters and her eyes become slightly vacant. "Yes. She did."

"What did she tell you?" Caesars question comes out quietly, as if he were talking to a wounded animal

"She told me to try my best and win" She says in a shaky voice.

"What did you tell her?" Caesar probes.

"I told her that I would."

"I'm sure that you will." Caesar ends.

She had only one moment of substantiality, when she talked about her sister. It was the only time when she had an emotional connection to anyone. But luckily she got an 11 in training and her costumes were so incredible. I don't think that anyone wants to make an emotional connection to any of the Tributes. I don't think this will hurt her.

The boy from 12 is in all actuality very handsome. He has a pearl white smile and impeccably straight teeth. He and Caesar exchange light and witty banter and Peeta says that the showers are the most interesting thing that he has seen in the capital so far. He even goes so far as to ask Caesar to smell him and tell him if he smells like roses. I chortle and get a strange look from my younger sister. When Caesar asks if there is a girl back home he says "no"

"A handsome lad like you, there must be!" Caesar says, skeptical.

Peeta discloses that there is one girl. "She didn't know that I existed until the Reaping a week ago."

Unrequited love. I can almost hear a collective sigh from practically every girl in the Capital.

"This is what you should do." Caesar instructs. "You have to win and then there will be no way that she won't know who you are and she will have to go out with you then, huh?"

The crowd goes crazy with laughter and agreement.

"I don't think that will help my case, Caesar, but thanks for the tip." Petta replies with a sad look in his eyes

"Why ever not?" Caesar questions.

Then he drops the biggest Hunger Games interview bombshell to date. "Because… because she… she came here with me." Most gasp, some cry, some even fait before they give into their hysterics.

"What an unfortunate streak of luck" Caesar tearfully says what everyone is thinking.

"I guess it is." Peeta agrees.

The camera pans over to Katniss' face and she looks shyly downward, the blush in her cheeks unmistakable. It is obvious to anyone with eyes that she has been taken by surprise but feels the same way and has been waiting for quite some time to hear him say that for an extended length of time. Just then, the buzzer symbolizing the end of Peeta's allotted three minutes goes off. Caesar ends by telling Peeta that he's sure he speaks for everyone when he says that every heart goes out to him. He has done something that I've seen done before. He has declared his love for his District partner mere hours before the Games have started. I wonder what his mentor will say. This couldn't have been planned.

CHAPTER 2

The next morning, I wake up earlier than usual to make a big Hunger Games breakfast for my family. Dad is up earliest to get ready for work so we have a nice talk.

"Why, thank you Collins!" He says as he takes the plate of fluffy golden brown pancakes and scrambles eggs with a generous helping of the thickly cut and greasy bacon that I fried up in an old blackened cast iron skillet.

I get out two mugs, the sugar, the cream and a spoon. I walk back to the table, my hands full and go back for the pot of freshly made coffee and the syrup for the pancakes. As I'm about to sit down, I pull out another two plates and set the rest of the bacon one and the pancakes in the other and put plastic wrap on the bowl of batter so that I can make fresh ones when everyone else is up. I finally sit down and prepare to make myself coffee and find it's already been made for me.

My dad winks and says "It's the least I could do, sweet heart. It's superb as always. You are the best cook in the family!"

"Well, thanks" I say.

I taste my coffee and somehow it seems to taste better than usual.

"Mmmm you make the best coffee!"

"The trick is to add more sugar than you normally would then mix in some coco powder. It makes it smoother, and chocolatier. Neat trick huh?"

I nod my accent through a mouthful of coffee and pancakes.

"Here. Try this." He instructs as he drenches my pancakes, eggs and bacon in a healthy stream of syrup.

I give him a questioning look and he gestures towards the bacon covered in the thick sweet brown liquid. It is like nothing I have ever tasted. It's sweet from the syrup and a little salty and smoky from the cured meat. It even improves the taste of the already perfectly seasoned eggs and brings out the vanilla of the pancakes and I make a mental note to tell Belle about this new discovery. I am sure that she is going to love it. Mom can get her own when she finally get out of bed at noon. Besides, she'll have some kind of Hunger Games party of sorts to go to anyway and by then I will be making lunch for Belle and me.

I go rouse Belle and duck just in time to avoid being hit in the face by one of her baby pink polish covered hands. She may be petite, but she can slap hard. Even when she was six, she could slap you and leave a bruise that lasted for a week. She kicks hard to so there's no good way to wake the little angle up.

"Go away!" She angrily mumbled, still half asleep.

I tried again.

"Mmmmmm! Leave me alone!" She said again.

"Honey, it's me. I made breakfast." Telling her that I had food usually made it easier to get her out of bed.

"Uggggg! Okay" She said as she gave a playful smile and rolled out of bed.

We eventually made our way to the living room after a small pillow fight. I went into the kitchen to make Bell a plate of food.

"What are we having?" She yells at me from the living room

"It's a surprise!" I yell back

I get out some fresh eggs and butter as I reheat the cast iron skillet and add more bacon. I add more vanilla to the batter because it's been sitting for a while and has lost its flavor. I put on a pot of coffee and make it the way dad did and add lots of sugar and coco powder to each of the mugs. I add whipped cream in the shape of a smiley face to Belle's pancakes and syrup to everything else, just as my dad had. I'm careful to let the pancakes cool for a minute so that the whipped cream doesn't melt. I'm careful not to get a drop on the pancakes. Belle doesn't like syrup on her pancakes because it messes up the smile. When I come out of the kitchen, I see Belle asleep on the couch covered by the blanket that is supposed to be on our bed and her head on her favorite pillow. Oh boy, let's not start this again I think.

"Belle wake up." I tell her.

"I'm up, I'm up!" She says sitting up and as she rubs her eyes. I set the food on the table in front of her and she smiles at me.

"Your favorite." I tell her

"You even remembered the smile!" She squeals. "Mom never does." No, she doesn't because she never makes us breakfast I say to myself.

The first time she ever had pancakes with the smile, dad had made them. She had been really sick and dad had stayed home to take care of her because I had school and he needed to take her to the doctor. She wouldn't eat anything so he decided to make her favorite and add something special. She laughed when she saw them. I love her laugh. She gives me a questioning look.

"Try it. I promise you'll like it." I assure her. "I had it like that this morning. It's daddies idea."

"ahmagaawww!" she says through a bite of the eggs.

"Try the bacon" I instruct.

She gives me a look of surprise and her eyes widen.

"Good isn't it" I ask

She nods as she takes another bite of the bacon

"I added something to the pancakes"

She tears off a piece of pancake and chews. "Vanilla? I don't know. I'm not really awake enough to even remember my own name right now!"

she likes to try and guess what I add to the food. It's a little game we play. She has a great pallet so she usually gets it right.

"Collins! Collins! Collins! Oh Collins! Look! Look! Look!" Airebella says as she shakes my arm almost sending my coffee all over us and the floor.

"It's her! It's Katniss! I see her looking at that Peeta boy! Why is he shaking his head? I guess he's trying to stop her from going into the Cornucopia. Even in the arena he's trying to protect her! Isn't that sweet?"

Not "awake enough to know her name"? I highly doubt that. I ask her to make more coffee in the kitchen because the cornucopia is always blood bath and I don't want her to see that. She's still too young in my opinion.

She protests and I retort "Do you want to do it now, or miss something actually worth watching when thing start to get interesting? I will be sure to let you know what you miss. Now go make some more coffee."

"Fine" she discontentedly huffs.

I'm glad I sent her to the kitchen because this year, the killings are so brutal; it's all I can do to keep my breakfast down. If I was this bad, Belle would be on her way to the bathroom or curled up in the fetal position, bawling.

"What did I miss?" she wonders as she takes her spot next to me.

"uuuhhhh," I say, trying to get my head cleared of the red carnage enough to tell her if anything important happened. "Nothing much; the boy from 4 got killed. That's about all." In a little while Claudius will tell us the final death toll.

"You will have a full recap of the five minutes that you missed soon enough" I remind her. When the fighting is finally over, Claudius Templesmith and Caesar Flickerman always tell the viewers exactly who died and from what Districts.

"No, Katniss didn't die, if that's what you're wondering. Neither did Peeta, so relax. Katniss went straight for the woods and I'm not sure where Peeta went but I think he went with Cato, maybe?"

I tell her, unsure.

"Oh. Well those are some interesting strategies." She says, unconvinced.

"I guess so" I decide.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna see if Taylor and Aud want to come over. Do u have anyone you want to invite over to watch with us?"

"Can Gabi and Caitlin come over?" she asks.

"Sure, why not?" I agree warily. Gabi and Caitlin are my sisters' best friends. When my sister and her friends get together, they get loud. Like ear splittingly loud. Needless to say, within minutes of their arrival, I have a migraine and want to kill them.

Taylor and Aud help me keep my sanity though and and they assist in my keeping the girls in line. After they get enough footage of the fighting at the Cornucopia, they start to show more footage of Katniss who looks good but maybe a little dehydrated. The rest of the morning and into the afternoon passes without incident, which is to be expected. Most of the Tributes will be making allies with the remaining 13 others and settling in and deciding watches even though no one will sleep. The initial bloodbath at the Cornucopia lasts all day and into the late afternoon after the sun has begun to set.

Katniss has worked herself into the fork of a tall tree. The girl from District 8 who has just lit a fire, isn't far away but she doesn't see Katniss. She looks back for a second and rolls her eyes, probably thinking about how she would probably kill her herself if it didn't mean leaving her shelter and risking giving away her location to the Career Pack. Then I hear her scream at the top of her lounges and Katniss looks terrified. She has finally realized just how close the dumbest girl in the Games really is. She holds her breathe for a long moment.

Then the remaining Tributes from 1, 2 and 4 come into view. That is when I notice him. Peeta Mellark has joined the Careers.

"Lover Boy. Are you sure she's here?" Cato probes.

"Ya. That was one of her snares." Peeta assures.

"It better be." Cato warns. "Shouldn't we have heard the cannon by now, Cato?" Clove wonders.

"She's dead. Now shut up" Cato instructs.

"Well, then why hasn't the cannon gone off" Glimmer agrees with Clove.

"I know where the knife went in!" Cato snaps.

"We're wasting time! I'll go back and finish her off." Peeta goes back to where the girl is. A second later se hear the tell-tale cannon shot and know that the girl from 8 is no more.

"Why don't we just kill him now?" Glimmer whines.

"Because he's the best shot we've got at finding her. And he's handy with a knife" He reminds his District partner. Just then, Peeta returns, wiping the blood from his knife off on his shirt.  
"Alright. Let's move."

I must say that I am surprised that they don't see her. After all, she is nearly falling out of the tree, only held in place by her belt. She fell when she heard Peeta say he was going to finish off the girl.

After they leave, Katniss rights herself and settles down. The Careers go back to the lake where the Games started this morning. They hunker down for the night and I can tell that it is going to be a chilly night. I can already see the white clouds coming from the Tributes when they breathe through their mouths or talk. Soon they are all asleep.

We all say good-night and tell them to meet us here again tomorrow at the same time for day 2 of the Hunger Games.

"Just try and keep us away!" Taylor jokes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh you can count on it. I'll have cops lining the streets, each armed with a gun and a picture of you and orders to shoot if you get too close!" I counter.

We all share a little chuckle. My parents finally waltz through the door about fifteen minutes later. "Have you guys eaten?" I ask.

I know that they probably have but I need to get some food in my mom's stomach to combat all the gen and tonic. Soon the fragrance of warm, lightly fried chicken drenched in a thick light brown slightly sweet sauce fills the air. The sauce also covers an array of softened steamed vegetables. From what I can tell there are bright green snap peas and vivid orange green carrot slices. I get out the bowls and the forks and knives. We eat and talk about Day 1 and soon the smell of the chicken has spread from the living room to the entire house.

CHAPTER 3

The next morning of the Hunger Games is a smoking success, especially when Katniss starts dodging fire balls. The game makers have set the arena on fire and Katniss is on her feet in seconds, running from the flames. They want to force her nearer to the other Tributes. They wouldn't want things to get boring. She runs and dodges the fire ball that nearly hits her face, barely avoiding being lit up like a torch. She ducks and this time it isn't an almost.

It's a direct hit to her calf. Instinctively, she reaches behind her to rip off the rest of the fabric now that she has rolled and extinguished the worst of it. Now she has a burned calf and burned hands. She soldiers on and finds a little stream. Now for the first time she stops and settles herself on the ground and first examines her hands. The burns aren't too serious but they are covered in blisters and are sure to be painful. Now that her hands have been looked at she begins to slowly tear away part of her pants to get a better look at the burn. Her expression speaks volumes.

She is preparing herself for the worst. I bet she has seen some awful burns being from the coal mining district. She takes one more moment to dwell on the possibilities of how bad her burn might be while she gets fresh water and adds three drops of iodine to purify it before she actually lowers her head for the detailed examination. Her face washes with relief and she realizes that it isn't nearly as bad as she originally thought and soaks her hands and leg. Her burned skin seems to be instantly soothed and cooled by the frigid water from her pool.

She realizes that she better get going if she doesn't want to get caught by the Careers. While she is packing her gear, she hears them. She stands frozen, listening. When they come through the foliage she runs. Even with the bad leg, she is faster. I guess that they were slowed down by the fire and smoke exposer too. She has climbed about 20 feet into the air when the Careers are at the trunk.

"Hello, Cato!" she yells from her safe spot in a cheery voice. "How are you doing? It's nice up here. You should come and join me!" she proposes.

"Well enough thank you." He says, climbing. By the time he has a hand and foot on the tree, Katniss has climbed another thirty feet. He has now climbed only a few feet and she has climbed another twenty feet then another ten. She is now to the slenderest of branches. Cato is to the point where the limbs are becoming slightly thinner when his branch breaks under his weight.

He catches his breath and curses repeatedly as Glimmer grabs her bow and arrows and takes aim at Katniss. There is a look of unadulterated loathing on her face as she realizes that Glimmer got the bow and arrow. I guess that was going to be her weapon of choice. I wonder if she got her 11 with the aid of these two pieces of equipment. I think she might have been planning on going into the cornucopia to get these before she locked eyes with her lover, Peeta.

The arrow misses and you can see a smile play across Katniss' face as she realizes that Glimmer is a terrible shot. She takes the arrow out of the tree where it has lodged itself about six inches from her head. She holds it up for the group to see, as if taunting them.

Katniss flattens herself against the tree as she shouts to Cato suppressing a laugh."Why don't you just through the sward?"

They want to try to climb the tree again but Peeta convinces them to wait her out on the ground.

"She has to come down sometime." Peeta assures them. "It's either that, or starve to death. She has to come down sometime."

Peeta and the others begin to set up camp for the night because it's getting late and cold. The group sits around a fire and talks and laughs as Cato sticks the tip of his sward in the fire and then spitting on the molten metal with a sizzle. Peeta lays back and stares at the tree and the lovely girl, his district partner, held up there for the night, secured only by a belt that has been fastened in such a way that the it goes around the trunk of the tree and buckles around her waist to keep her from falling out of the tree like she almost did on the first night when she first heard Peeta's voice with the Careers.

Just as the Anthem plays, something catches Katniss' eye; another pair of eyes in the trees. It is the small twelve year old girl Rue. She gestures above Katniss' head and she looks up. Her heart sinks as she realizes that only several limbs above her head, is a Tracker Jacker nest. These things are brutal. They have genetically altered venom and a distinctive solid gold body. Their venom causes searing pain and delusions. Possibly even death depending on the amount of stings and the person's particular level of tolerance. Needless to say, these things are dangerous. The eyes go as quietly as they came. Katniss suppresses a laugh.

This should have gotten the girl a 10, assuming this is the talent that she showed the Gamemakers in her private training session. The Anthem plays and Katniss slowly makes her way up to the nest being careful not to get too close too quickly. She needs to do this while the Anthem plays to create a distraction so that they won't know what she's planning. She takes her knife and saws away at the limb, not the nest itself because that would be too dangerous. Somehow, the Tracker Jackers seem more subdued.

The smoke! The Tracker Jackers have been sedated by the smoke from earlier this morning. The effort on her burned hands is visible in her eyes. She doesn't stop. She methodically saws through the limb and is three quarters through the tree when the Anthem ends and she has to stop. She begins her climb down and is settled in when she cuts a hole in her sleeping bag she acquired as she fled the cornucopia. She won the fight after the Tribute she was fighting was hit the back with a knife thrown by the girl from 2. Katniss runs and a knife lodges itself in her backpack giving her a weapon.

After she cuts the slit and sticks her leg out of it, she gets a parachute from her mentor. It contains a burn cream. She sighs in relief and whispers a quiet thank you to the drunk District 12 victor who was her and Peeta's mentor.

She wakes up early the next morning. As Katniss begins the climb up the Tracker Jacker nest, I realize that her burn is defiantly much better. Her skin has gone from being a flaming red to a light baby pink. She grabs the knife and begins to finish cutting down the nest. The first Tracker Jackerhas come out and the rest won't be far behind. They are still subdued but the sedative is starting to wear off. As she cuts, e more alert they become and within the thirty seconds it takes her finish sawing through the rest of the branch, she gets stung three times. At least she has the wherewithal to pick out the barbed stingers. Things would be a lot worse for her if she hadn't done that.

The nest falls and most of them drop everything and run but Glimmer and the girl from 4 aren't fast enough. Glimmer falls and tries to run but only makes it a few more steps Katniss has now fallen from her tree and starts to run but then turns around and walks near Glimmer's body and grabs her arms and ends up falling back because Glimmer's skin has disintegrated in her hands. She goes back and ends up breaking what must have been glimmers fingers to make her grip lessen because regermourtes has already set in. She eventually frees the bow and tries to flip Glimmer over to free the arrows but the skin falls off. Katniss' face goes green and she looks like she's going to puke. Katniss takes a deep breath and puts her hand under Glimmer's body and grabs her rib cage and flips her over. She tries to freebthe arrows but they get caught on her shoulder blade. Eventually Katniss gets it free and stands there. Peeta comes barreling towards Katniss.

"Run! Run Katniss!" Petta yells.

She's really out of it but she seems to become more lucid at the sound of his voice. He's drenched from the lake that they made a brake for to get the Tracker Jackers off of their tail. Glimmer and the girl from 4 hadn't made it out of the attack though. She does what she's told and runs. She also screams a lot. The Tracker Jacker venom must be affecting her quite a substantial amount. She doesn't make it far before se collapses in a screaming heap onto the forest floor. It's a miracle no one comes to kill her. Soon the little girl from 11 is there and Rue covers Katniss in leaves to offer some protection. It takes Katniss three days to wake up from her unrestful dream like state. When she does, Rue, who has been with her the time, hides behind a tree. Katniss returns to full alertness and she sees her bow and arrows laid out for her perfectly. She sees a little head and looks and tries to remember who's head it is.

"Rue?" she questions.

Rue gasps and goes rigid behind the tree. "It's ok! I'm not going to hurt you!" she reassures the tiny 12 year old.

She peaked out from behind the tree very slowly. Katniss smiles. Rue smiles back and Katniss helps her to her feet.

"I changed you leafs a few times." Rue gestures to Katniss' arm. It's covered in leaves.

"How long have I been out?" Katniss asks.

"ehhhh, a few days. Maybe three." She estimates.

"How's my district partner?" Katniss inquires.

Rue smiles. "Oh, he's fine. Is it true?" she wonders.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, are you in love with each other?" she says with a tone that says 'well shouldn't it be obvious?'. Katniss laughs but doesn't answer.

"Of course she does!" I say.

"Oh I know! It's so romantic!" She agrees.

"Ya, I mean, it's so sad and so romantic! Two people sent to fight to the death only to realize that they love each other!"

"I totally agree! SO sad!" Taylor says, standing in the doorway.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Aierabella chimes.

"What did I tell you, Taylor?" I continue our joke from the night before.

"Well, I bribed them with some food and they let me right on through, no sweat. You should really check to see what your help can be bribed with. At least make it a little challenging, Coll." He finishes, seamlessly picks up where I left off.

He has an uncanny sense of humor, kind of scatterbrained in a way but undeniably entertaining. I can't help but laugh. Taylor is the type who can't stop wise cracking to save his life. He's always smarting off to the teachers. He can't help it.

"Well, I have to do something to brighten up their miserable lives!" He'd once told me with a smile on his face when I'd called him out on it while we walked home.

"Oh, I see. You're gonna get into some serious trouble one day then we'll see where your jokes get you." I laughed and shook my head. "You're crazy, you know that right?" I questioned.

"You may be right, I may be crazy." He quoted a song that was about a hundred years old. He'd had an immediate connection to it though.

"But it may just be a lunatic you're looking for" I finished without missing a beat. I'd heard the line repeated enough that it was practically second nature to finish it now.

"You got that right!" he nudged my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a half smile then cocked my eye brow, a trick I'd learned from him.

"What do you want for lunch?" I asked.

"I don't know, surprise me." He said cocking his eye brow as he always did when he wanted to be funny or when he didn't have a straight answer for something which was almost always.

"Sure thing." I said giving one right back to him.

I ordered mac and cheese because I wanted comfort food and I knew Belle would like it. We spend the rest of the morning sitting around watching the Games which pass without too much drama. After the food comes, and everyone has a plate, I sit on the small couch, a love seat I think it's called. It's big enough for two people but it usually take up the whole thing because I like to spread out. Taylor comes over.

"Move your legs." He tells me.

"Okay." I say in a questioning voice.

I move my legs and he works his way under the blanket and puts his arm around me. This was a little odd but Taylor has always been comfortable around girls so I don't think much of it. He probably did it out of habit or something.

"Hop up." I said an hour later.

"What's up?" he asks in his usual way that means 'what's going on?'

"I've gotta do the dishes and you're gonna help. I feed you, so you help wash dishes. That's how things work." I remind him.

"mkay" he says, grabbing a bowl and some silver wear.

I grab the other two and we head to the kitchen. I let the water get warm and hand him a sponge.

"Opps, sorry!" he says with a smile on his face as he pelts me in the face with the sopping wet and now soapy sponge. I gasp and load my sponge up with even more soap, ready to attack. I hit him even harder and nearly claps with laughter.

"Oh, it's on now!" He yells.

Soon we're covered in suds and water and are on the floor laughing. I get up and give him a hand off the floor. I put a bowl in the water and turn around to get another when Taylor kisses me. It's unexpected but not unwanted. I kiss him back and we're tangled in each other for a long, perfect moment. His lips are warm and soft but strong. They fit over mine so perfectly that I can't help but wonder if maybe they were sculpted to fit only mine.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to do that." He says kissing me again.

"You have no idea how long I've WANTED you to do that." I say, the truth of it surprising even me.

"We should probably get back though, huh?" his voice breaks through my thoughts.

We spend the rest of the day on the love seat with his arm around me and my head on his chest. I didn't know what we were now; certainly more than friends. It wasn't defined but it didn't need to be. It was as easy as breathing and that was all I needed to know. That loved him and he loved me.

"Well, bye!" He said several hours later.

He walked over to Belle and gave her a big hug and spun her around the room. "See ya around, kid." He said as he set Aireabella back on the couch.

"I'll walk you out" I suggested, hopping up from the seat.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" I wonder nervously.

"Sure!" He says wrapping his arms around my waist.

I want to freeze the moment in time. His arms are around me and our foreheads are pressed together and our eyes are closed. We fit together perfectly in each other's' embrace in the chilly summer evening air. We kiss and it's sweet with the breeze that runs across our faces.

CHAPTER 4

I come back in the house after catching my breath and watching him walk down the block and out of sight. Belle and I spend the rest of the night watching the Games curled up on the couch. Soon, though she's tired so we settle in to bed. She's out like a light quickly, leaving me alone with my jumbled thoughts and I know that I will never be able to sleep tonight. It's late and I'm not remotely tired. I lie there with my arms around Belle trying to sort things out. I listen to her rhythmic breathing and try to clear my mind but it doesn't work. I close my eyes and see him which only gets my turning even more.

Several long hours later, I wander into the kitchen to order something sweet and find dad has had the same idea.

"Grab a spoon and pull up a chair." Dad instructs.

He has ordered two small tubs of my favorite ice cream. I wonder if he knew that I was awake. I put the thought out of my mind and join him. He knows my affinity for cookie dough ice cream. A minute of pleasurable silence passes and we eat from the tubs of ice cream.

"I kissed Taylor." I say. Why did you tell him that I ask myself.

"It's about time." He says.

I give him a questioning look.

"I've known the whole time." He says and shrugs.

"You talk about him in your sleep a lot. I hear it when I come in every night to check on you and your sister. I went in and didn't hear you talking so I guessed that you were still awake." He gestures at the tub of slowly melting ice cream.

"Ah" I say.

"So are you two 'official' now?" he wonders.

"No, I don't think so but I'm not sure. I've never done anything like this before." I answer.

"Well, I'm glad he's finally realized what a great girl you are, Coll." My dad tells me with a wink

"Why, thank you daddy" I say with a smile as we clink spoons.

When we finish our ice cream, dad orders more. We spend the rest of the night talking and eating a total of three tubs of ice cream each. We sit on the couch laughing and watching the sun rise.

"Thanks for that." I tell my dad when he finally has to get up and get ready for work

"You're welcome, sweetheart." He smiles at me. "We should do this again sometime!"

"Oh, definitely! It was fun!"

When dad finished in the bathroom I took a nice long hot shower and made a mental note not to use the scale for another week because I could feel the pounds adding from the ice cream last night. I've always been finicky about my weight. I'm pretty small but I can't help but feel fat when I see the other girls at school. They had all probably had weight loss surgery but I've never been too interested in altering my appearance through surgery.

"Well, you wouldn't feel so fat if you went under the knife." She told me once.

"Well, I'm not as desperate or appearance driven as some people" I'd given her a biting comment that she would know was meant for her. Two could play at this.

"I think it would be a good thing though, they could suck all that fat from your gut and humungous thighs and put it to better use on your chest. Maybe shrink that big nose you have on your splotchy face. But don't worry. The plastic surgeon can fix that too. A face lift and some Botox wouldn't hurt either." If looks could kill, the one she gave me then would have killed, dismembered and buried me not the traditional six feet, but a whole ten. She knew how self-conscious I was.

She knew that she was the reason that I'd never felt pretty in my life and she didn't care. In fact, she liked it. She thrived on it.

That was when I realized just how much I hated my mother. We'd never had a great relationship but I'd never felt pure hatred for her. I'd gone to my father and sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'll have to talk to her about this now won't I?" he'd posed a rhetorical question.

He knew as well as I did that mom's words were unacceptable. After he calmed me down he made me some tea and five minutes later I heard yelling.

"SHE'S YOUR DAUGHTER ANDREA!"

"I DON'T CARE! I'LL TELL HER WHAT EVER I FEEL LIKE TELLING HER."

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN FOR THE LAST HALF HOUR, ANDREA?"

"NO, BUT PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME!"

"CONSOLING OUR 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WHO YOU JUST CALLED AN UNGLY COW!"

My mom just laughed. This just made my father even angrier.

"GOD, ANDREA! YOU ARE A HORRIBLE MOTHER AND AN EVEN WORSE PERSON!"

That shut her up. After that, I heard the door slam. It was tense for the next week and a half. My dad hadn't meant it but he had said it and that was the point. My mother wasn't used to people calling her out on her behavior. She slept even more than usual that week to avoid my father and me both. Airabella was crying even harder than she had been when she'd walked into our room and found me crying.

Belle is a very empathetic person. She will sit down and cry with you before she even knows what you're crying about. She is one of the sweetest girl you've ever met. It's impossible to be upset at her.

We got under the covers and cried together. It scared me. I had heard about some of the fights my friends had overheard but it had never happened to me before. We fell asleep in a teary, snotty, splotchy ball.

I got out of the shower and put my hand on the small metal square on the counter and it instantly dried and parted and straightened my hair so that it fell in shiny soft sandy blonde sheets. I turned one the small curling iron. I hate to use it because there isn't a metal clip to hold my hair back so I have hold it with my fingers and I sometimes but them too low and burn myself. When that happens, you know because you can hear me yelling obscenities across the house.

Even though I hate it, I call it a wand because it works magic my hair and I love the way it looks when it's done. I only use it for special occasions like school pictures or nice dinners with my friends or dances. My what ever you want to call it Taylor was coming over. This was definitely a special occasion, at least in my mind. I crept into our room on tip toe so that I didn't wake Belle up. I look down at my nails and grimace. They are disgusting so I decide to paint them a color to match my outfit. I settle on my pink coral sun dress and matching wedges. I knew that I would get a rise out of him in this ensemble because I distinctly remember him being speechless the first time he ever saw me in it when he picked me up for diner with Aud.

I did my makeup perfectly. I used only pinks and neutral tones. After my hair was perfectly curled, I painted my nails and let my dad give me the once over. I appreciate his critiques because he never takes it past the point of helpful suggestions and constructive criticism unlike my mother. I come out and his jaw drops.

"Wow, Collins. You look absolutely beautiful. Perfect."

"Thanks." I turn my perfectly lip glossed lips up into a smile that shows off my perfect, dazzlingly white teeth.

Coral has always been my color because it brings out the tan of my skin and the green of my eyes. It also makes my hair look even more blonde and my eyes shine like rare brown pearls. I look almost exactly like my dad. We have the same sandy blonde frizzy-curly hair that we have to something with every day because if we don't, it looks horrid. We have the same bright brown eyes. The only difference is that my father keeps his hair cut short and gelled so that it's easier to deal with and I keep mine long so that I have weight and length to combat frizz.

I have to straighten my hair every day though. I have to straighten it just so that I can curl it or do anything with it. The only good thing about my hair is that it's thick, so it holds a curl and a straighten pretty well. I hate my hair.

It's eight so I get Belle up and ask her if she wants to help me make breakfast. When we get to the kitchen, she looks me over.

"It's only Taylor, Coll." She tells me as she as she cracks eggs in the bowl for homemade biscuits.

"I know, but I wanted to look nice. He mentioned taking us out for lunch or something I think." I cover.

"Oh! Cool! I may get a quick shower and dress up! Will you do my hair?" she asks.

"Of course!" I tell her "I'll also do your makeup if you want me to." I offer.

"Ya!" she squeaked.

"Okay." I said cheerfully. "Now go wash up. All I've got left to do is mix and put things in pans and put them in the oven. I'll be there in a second."

In a second I hear the shower going and Belle singing. She has a wonderful voice. The shower stops just as I close the over door.

Belle comes out and asks me to help her pick out some clothes and we settle on a white lacy shirt and a light turquoise undershirt and matching wedges. The little pops of blue bring out her eyes. They seem less colorless and even bluer, if that's possible. I do her makeup in a shimmery pink to compliment the blue and highlight the pink in her skin.

I straighten her hair because it has always looked beautiful like that. She loves it when I straighten her hair. She says I do a good job and don't burn her.

I paint her nails the same turquoise as her shirt.

"You look even prettier than I do!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks!" she blushed. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you, so, ya know"

I giggled. It was true.

CHAPTER 5

"Well don't the two of you look like the prettiest tings in the whole Capital?" he said as he walked through the door and grabbed my hand and spun me.

"Almost too good not to take us out?" I question giving his hand a squeeze.

"Just what I was thinking." He gives me a crazy grin and gives Airabella a wink.

"Spin around" he tells Belle and grabs her hand.

"Where do you wanna go?" he asks us.

"I hear there's this really great restaurant downtown that has like, everything you could want!" Belle suggests.

"Sounds good!" He says. " 'sthat okay with you?" he asks.

"Sure!" I say. "Bells, do you wanna bring Gabs and Cattie?" I pose a rhetorical question.

"Of course! Is that okay with you, Tay?"

"Oh! Totally!" he gives her a smile.

"That way we can have our own table" I put my arms around his waist and give him a kiss while Airebella calls her friends.

She rushes back and screams at us to turn on the television. We comply because we have no idea what on earth could be happening.

CHAPTER 6

"So where are the Careers?" Katniss asks her new ally, giving her a bird leg.

"By the lake." The girl responds.

"And Peeta?" Katniss questions.

"By the river." Rue says.

"So, he's not with them anymore?" Katniss asks.

"Nope." Rue says.

"Anything else I need to know?" Katniss inquires.

"All of the Careers food is in one big pile." Rue grins.

By this time all of our eyes are glued to the screen.

"Sounds… tempting." Katniss raises her eye brows.

Rue shakes her head in agreement.

"It's doesn't look very guarded, either." Rue smiles.

"That was a huge mistake, now wasn't it?" it's more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, yes it was." Rue looks triumphant and so does Katniss.

"We need to make a plan."

"Yup"

"Tomorrow, we blow up the careers food." Katniss decides.

After that we go to the restaurant and pick Belle's friends up on the way. We have a great lunch. Belle sits with her friends and I sit next to Taylor at our own table.

"So what are your thoughts on the newest alliance?" he gives me a piece of warm buttered bread.

As I think about his question I watch as the butter melts into every craves of the milky white bread.

"I like it." I decide.

"Hmm, me too!" he nods his head.

"I wonder how they're going to blow up the food." He says almost to himself.

"I have no idea." I reply.

We share our lunch and in an hour we pay the bill and collect the girls. Our walk home is full of talk of the days news from the Games.

When we get home, we tell everyone goodbye and Belle and I end up falling asleep on the couch, which is where we wake up the next morning.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." Taylor shakes me awake.

My heart sinks because I can literally feel the make up smudges all over my face. He's suppressing a laugh and then I realize just how bad I must look. That's when I realize that Belle is gone.

"Where is Belle?" I say through my hands

"In the kitchen, beautiful." He grabs my hands.

I bust out laughing because I know he's lying.

I go to the bathroom to freshen up and realize that my make-up is actually perfect and that my sleep reddened cheeks provide the perfect amount of color to my face. I add some lip gloss and look like a the goddesses that we learned about in school that ruled over the ancient lands that existed before there was Panem. I head off to our room to change into new clothes. I settle on a soft pink satin dress. When I come out, my sister has made me my favorite breakfast and my maybe boyfriend-ish type person telling me how beautiful I look. If the rest of my day could be as perfect as waking up was, I would be happy.

"Oh! We've got to watch the Games! Katniss and Rue are going to blow up the food, remember?" Belle prompts.

We turn on the television just in time.

"So, you're going to light this. When you do, run. It's going to produce a lot of black smoke really quickly so you're going to need to get out and go to the next pile of leaves, okay?" she goes over the plan making sure they're on the same page.

"Got it!" the tiny girl agrees sounding a little nervous.

As katniss is about to leave, Rue speaks up.

"Katniss?" her voice shakes ever so slightly like she's trying to hold back tears or nerves.

"Ya?" Katniss speaks to her like you would speak to a young child who's in some great amount of pain.

She is, no doubt remembering her sister.

"We should have some sort of signal that means 'I got held up but I'm ok' you know? Just in case one of us can't make it back in time, so that the other doesn't worry."

"Sure." She gets down eye level with the child and wraps her long arms around Rue's little body.

They both know that there is a very real chance that Katniss may never see her again.

"and how are we going to do that, my little flower?" she grabs Rue's attention by calling her by an affectionate nickname.

Rue laughs. "Haven't you noticed all of the Mockingjay's? They're everywhere!"

"No. I haven't." Katniss admits. "How do they come into play?"

"They repeat a range of human sounds. That's how I'd signal the end of the work day in the orchards back home." She imparted yet more wisdom onto Katniss.

"Oh that's right!" Katniss remembers.

She fixes the girls collar and gives her another hug.

"Don't worry. Hey, I'll see you for dinner." She put her hand under the girls chin and smiled a half smile. Rue smiled back.

CHAPTER 7

Katniss started her trek down the mountain to the lake on her quest to destroy the Careers food and other sustenance. She walks a few miles with only her pack witch she has filled with the last of a goosling that she caught, a pouch of water cured with three drops of iodine, some berries that Rue picked, leaves that Rue also got for Katniss' burns, and a pair of night vision goggles although she probably doesn't know what they're called.

She looks behind her to make sure that the fire is going and, satisfied with the level of smoke, she continues her decent. In another hour she reached the base of the mountain. The Careers have just noticed the thick black haze emanating from the leaves that she had placed. They start to assemble their weapons to hunt for the player who has started the fire. They leave the boy from 9, the cattle District, in charge of the supplies and food in their absence.

As Katniss is about to step closer to the stash that has been unceremoniously strung up in a mesh net, Foxface, the girl from 9, creeps out from her place.

She does this weird little dance and nearly falls once. In that moment, her face reads like a horror novel. Like she thought she might die if she hit the earth. Like the ground was full of… no, not possible. It's as if she thought the ground was covered in… land mines. All at once I realize the answer to the question that has been in the back of my mind for the last few minutes. In that moment, I realize why they kept the boy from 9 in their pack. Of course! District 9! The electronics and power District! He must have dug up the mines that are placed in the silver launch pads of the individual Tributes. Very clever.

At this point only Katniss can see her. Foxface takes advantage of her momentary cover and steals only a handful out of every bag of food the careers have that she has access to. Only a handful so that it's not obvious.

The boy soon realizes that there is someone is there and springs into action. Foxface sprints off and the boy follows behind.

Katniss has become aware of the mines too. She aims at the sack of apples from the hiding place she was about to leave and the top of the bag rips, but not enough. She moves a yard or so closer. She carefully aims another arrow. The best she can hope for is that the apple will land on a mine and that the debris will cause a series of other explosions that will topple over the cornucopia mouth shaped structure and destroy the supplies.

She takes an arrow out of the quiver and places it between the string and the frame of the bow. She draws the bow back to the edge of her lip. The feathered tip of the bow touches her cheek bone. She takes a series of deep breathes. She checks he aim one last time and sends the arrow flying. The point severs the bag. The apples cascade down the boxes and on to the floor. Everything seems to almost stop. The first apple makes it's slow and tedious trek through the air towards the ground. It hits the ground and produces the loudest noise I've ever heard. It takes a moment to put together the events that have transpired over the last long several seconds. Katniss has been blown through at least six feet through the air.

Foxface circles back, having lost her hunter. The look in her eyes is like nothing I have ever seen before. The only words that I can think of to describe her in that fraction of a moment are hysteria and insanity. This image isn't helped by the fact that she is laughing like a neurologically damaged, mentally ill individual who has just figured out how to achieve their life long goal of destroying all of humanity. She seems to not care that her precious food source has just been decimated. Instead she looks like some kind stranger has just given her the world on a silver platter for Winter Holiday. She now has something better than that; something entirely more useful. A fighting chance. She knows as well as Katniss that the only real advantage that the Careers have is that they have been properly fed. It is also a curse. Take that food away, and it takes away that advantage. They don't know how to be hungry. Not like Katniss and Foxface do. The only occasion where a member of the Career pack wasn't the Victor is when they have lost their food source. It instantly levels the playing field. Katniss and Foxface both realize this.

Foxface is sudenly shocked back to reality and and scrambles for the saftey of her woods. Mere seconds later, the boy has returned to his long abandoned post. Katniss slowly makes her way to her hiding spot, clutching her stomach all the way. She is still probably woozy from the explosions. Moments later Cato and the rest of the pack are barreling down the mountain side.


End file.
